Oman’s humanitarian efforts take centre-stage during COVID-19 pandemic

Oman’s humanitarian efforts take centre-stage during COVID-19 pandemic

OHRC has praised the government, civil and military stakeholders for their efforts in handling the coronavirus crisis.Muscat: Setting up a fund to support Oman's health services, providing free COVID treatment to Omanis and expatriates in the country, organising a hotline for people to report cases of infection, and bringing home Omani nationals stranded overseas are some of the efforts of the government that have been praised by the Oman Human Rights Commission (OHRC) in its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.The commission also personally intervened in 70 instances of people who required emergency assistance in 2020, owing to the pandemic. These were related to providing help in the form of housing, family support, resolving labour disputes, child welfare, urgent healthcare, and many others.The OHRC, in its annual report, also saw the formation of the Supreme Committee to deal with COVID-19, and the pardoning of foreign prisoners so that they could return to their home countries during the pandemic.Reserving special praise for His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik, the commission said, “The establishment of the fund came as an important initiative to support the steps taken by the government and the Central Bank of Oman in this field. His Majesty the Sultan